The Associated Press

Annika Sorenstam is surrounded by the gallery as she tees off on the 11th hole. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

FORT WORTH, Texas - When her final putt fell for a par, Annika Sorenstam walked off the 18th green at the Colonial to a standing ovation unlike anything the winner will hear Sunday.

Never mind that she shot a 4-over 74 Friday and missed the cut by four shots.

This was a chance to test herself at the highest level, on a tough course, under pressure few others in golf have ever faced.

"I've climbed as high as I can," she said. "And it was worth every step."

The first woman in 58 years to compete on the PGA Tour showed she could hold her own against the men - but only for two days.

She was 5-over 145 and tied for 96th out of 111 players who finished two rounds.

"I don't regret anything about coming here," Sorenstam said. "If a lady is good enough to get an invite or she qualifies, she should have every right to come here."

Though smiling to the end, Sorenstam wiped away tears as she walked off the green to a deafening and well-deserved ovation. She cried again when she signed for her 74, realizing that three months of steeling herself for the occasion, and two days on a stage she'll never visit again, were finally over.

"I didn't want it to end," she said. "I tested myself from start to finish. That's why I was here."

Sorenstam wound up 13 strokes behind co-leaders Kenny Perry (64) and Dan Forsman (66), who will take a one-stroke lead into the weekend. It probably won't be the same.

Sorenstam brought a buzz to Colonial not felt since Ben Hogan was prowling a course that became known as "Hogan's Alley."

For one week - and maybe longer - this was "Annika's Alley."

"It's been fantastic," Sorenstam said. "They have cheered me on from the first tee to the 18th hole. I didn't want to let them down."

Babe Didrikson Zaharias was the last woman to compete on the tour, in 1945. She made the 36-hole cut in the Los Angeles Open but failed to qualify for the final round. Zaharias also played in Tucson and Phoenix, making the cut both times.

Suzy Whaley will play in the Greater Hartford Open in late July, having qualified through a tournament for club pros.

Sorenstam thinks another woman will take on the PGA Tour - but it won't be her. "It was a great week but I've got to go back to my tour, where I belong. I'm glad I did it, but this is way over my head."

The competition was the best in the world. The course was longer - 7,080 yards - and tougher than any other she has played. The atmosphere was something only Tiger Woods could appreciate.

Sorenstam handled it all better than most expected, and eight shots better than the odds out of Las Vegas. "Length wasn't a problem," she said. "It was everything around it. I'm emotionally drained, because I gave it all I had."

TV RATINGS SOAR: Sorenstam's historic opening round at the Colonial gave the USA Network record ratings, producing a 1.7 national rating for five hours of coverage, the best for the cable network's Thursday coverage of a PGA Tour event.